Mexican living in Texas sentenced to life in prison in U.S.

Mexican Sergio Agustín De León Garza, 37, was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. for his role in the kidnapping of a Mexican businessman in December 2013, U.S. authorities reported.

Senior United States District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered Deleon Garza to pay US$73,800 restitution to his victim.

On January 15, 2015, a jury found De León Garza guilty of one count of conspiracy to kidnap; one count of aiding and abetting kidnapping; two counts of receipt of ransom money; one count of interstate communication of ransom; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; and, one count of aiding and abetting money laundering.

Evidence presented during trial revealed that on December 27, 2013, Jorge Luis Martín Cavazos Cantú was kidnapped from his Monterrey, Mexico residence by several men. While Cantú was in the custody of his abductors in Mexico, De León Garza placed several phone calls from Bexar County to Cantú’s family seeking ransom. In each call, De León Garza used a cellphone app which disguised his voice and his location. Cantú was released on January 29, 2014, after the ransom was paid.

“Kidnapping is a terrifying crime for the victim and for his family. Everyone knows that kidnappings can end very badly. Fortunately, the victim in this case survived and was released. De León Garza’s life-imprisonment sentence is appropriate and very well deserved,” stated United States Attorney Richard Durbin.

This case was investigated by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in San Antonio and in Mexico (Monterrey and Mexico City) in cooperation with the State of Nuevo León anti kidnapping unit and the attorney general’s office in Monterrey.

“This sentence represents outstanding law enforcement collaboration among agencies in the United States and Mexico, and demonstrates the bilateral tenacity involved with bringing those who threaten our communities to justice,” stated Joseph M. Arabit, DEA Special Agent in Charge, Houston Division.